Talim's Resolve
by mystic-Hoshi
Summary: One shot Tale of Souls - Talim “If you got the strength to continue your journey, then show me. If you can’t, then stay here and wait for me to destroy the sword, okay?” Talim and Yunseong


A/N: Okay…this situation really happened when I was playing the game, so I got inspiration from that. Well, enjoy :)

**Spoiler warning! For those who didn't play Talim's story in Soul Calibur 3 yet, there's a little spoiler! Beware! Ahhhhh! ….yeah… **

(Dis)claimer: I own the game.** Really?** Yeah, I do, it's in a pretty good condition too.

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Talim's Resolve

Talim looked at the yellow-streaked sky. The sun had just started to set and the sky was already beautiful. There was even a gentle wind blowing, which calmed her worried heart.

As she returned her gaze forward, she noticed her friend, Yun-seong, staring at her with a worried face.

"Are you okay? Tired?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine." Talim smiled to convince him, which didn't seem to work.

"We can take a break here if you need it."

"Really, I'm fine. Thanks. I was just thinking about the journey ahead of us."

"…oh." Yun-seong turned around and continued to walk.

Talim knew she shouldn't have bought that topic up again but she really wanted Yun-seong to stop worrying about her and continue their journey like they always did, with lots of jokes and laughs, and even a few nicknames. Ever since the curse revealed itself, Yun-seong became very serious and tried to stop her from traveling with him. Before, Talim always thought that if Yun-seong became more serious then she wouldn't need to deal with his jokes, but now, she felt awkward and worried because she knew he wasn't acting like himself.

'_I…kind of miss his jokes, even though they can be very ridiculous sometimes.' _Talim thought, and smiled as she remembered the funny ones.

"Hey…" Talim wanted to lighten the atmosphere, so she made an attempt to recall one of his jokes.

"Yes?" Yun-seong didn't even look at her, but kept walking.

Talim, seeing this, stopped walking. She mentally sighed and decided to try again later. "Never mind." She continued to walk. The rest of the journey was in uncomfortable silence.

They finally reached their destination, which was a city in Egypt. By now, the sun was close to setting, which made the sky more orange coloured. Talim had let Yun-seong do the leading, so she stared at the ground when they walked into the city, just to avoid stares from the residents of this city. Talim knew she should be used to the racist stares by now, but she couldn't help it. She didn't like seeing disapproval in people's faces. Usually, Yun-seong would tell her to hold her head high and glare at the people who were staring, which made her laugh and forget about the stares. But right now, he was angry that she wouldn't give up on the journey and walked quite fast, which didn't help her at all.

Talim tried her best to keep up with him and keep her gaze low at the same time. Because of this, she bumped into quite a few people, some who even started to yell at her. She'll always say sorry, and when she resumed walking, she always catches a glimpse of Yun-seong's gaze.

'_Maybe I'm just too tired. It's been a long day…'_ Talim suddenly bumped into a familiar back.

"Sor-" She looked up and saw the back of Yun-seong's head, and lowered her gaze again, "-ry."

"We're here." was his reply.

"Huh?" The building that they stopped at didn't look like an inn.

"I said, we're here. Now go inside."

Talim studied the building more carefully and finally understood. "This is a clinic! What's this suppose to mean?"

"What could it mean?" Yun-seong replied, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"But we already tried treating it! So let's not waste anymore time okay?" Talim's patience was running low.

"Just stay here." Yun-seong turned around to show that he was serious.

Talim just looked at him at that moment, for she was having an internal conflict of emotions that where welling up inside of her. Then she started, "What…is that suppose to mean…"

Yun-seong didn't even answer, and Talim already knew the answer before she asked, or rather, stated.

"…you…" After mustering that word, Talim ran passed Yun-seong and didn't look back.

She ran faster and felt a strong wind against her. She bumped into people, but she didn't care at the moment. When she used up most of her energy, she stopped and started to breathe deeply.

After calming down, Talim looked around, _'Where am I?'_

The area was quite deserted, and she knew why after studying the space around her. She was in an Egyptian temple.

Talim couldn't feel the gentle breeze that she felt earlier, and that made her feel even lonelier. Then she understood why. _'I was…running against the wind…I'm sorry. I was so childish, taking off like that.'_

Talim closed her eyes and lifted her face upwards, so she could feel the wind, but it didn't come. She sadly opened her eyes, and noticed a platform hanging from a high altitude. It was perfect.

---

Yun-seong stared at the empty space before him. It took him awhile to gather his thoughts, _'Why am I standing here?' _He looked around to see if Talim was still in sight, and sighed when he realized that she was not. _'Really…she's such a girl…okay, well, she is one. Anyways…' _He started to walk, then broke into a run. _'Maybe I pushed it too far.' _

---

Talim sat with her feet tucked beneath her in the center of the platform. It took awhile to find a way up there, and she was glad, because once again she felt the gentle breeze around her.

'_I think I should go back soon, Yun will worry. But what should I say…sorry? But there is nothing wrong with my decision…except when I ran off. Well, I should say sorry for that, but I will still continue the journey, despite the curse.'_

---

'_Where is she? I practically looked everywhere!' _Yun-seong took a moment to calm down, and realized what he should do. _'At times like these, I should think about where she will go.' _He placed his hand under his chin, _'Back at the valley, where did she go when she needed to think?' _He pondered for a moment, then remembered, "A high area where it's quiet-" Some people stared at him for his sudden outburst. _'…and has wind. Why didn't I think of that? I must hurry up and find a place like that.'_

After what seem like a long time, he stumbled across a deserted area. _'A temple? It's quiet, but I feel no wind…wait, high up, that's right.' _Yun-seong looked up, and immediately spotted a girl with pigtails sitting on a platform.

"Talim!" he shouted, but it didn't reach the girl's ears. _'How did she get up there?' _Yun-seong went to search for a path. While he was doing so, he suddenly thought that he didn't know what to say to her. _'Should I say sorry? But I was only worried! There's nothing wrong with that. So how do I convince her? She could be so stubborn sometimes…Finally found it!' _He started to make his way up the path he discovered. _'Maybe I should challenge her to see if she has any more strength left…it may be reckless, but I don't think I can convince her with my words.' _The platform came into view, and so did Talim's back. _'Tally, I'm sorry.' _

---

"Talim." At the sound of Yun-seong's voice, Talim quickly stood up and turned around.

'_I was thinking so much that I didn't even know someone was approaching from behind…is it because of the curse?' _Talim's worries flew back to her. She noticed Yun-seong holding his sword, and she even worried more.

"If you got the strength to continue your journey, then show me. If you can't, then stay here and wait for me to destroy the sword, okay?"

'_I will show you then, my strength, and my resolve.' _

Talim drew her weapons and whispered, "Wind, share with me your courage!"

Yun-seong, seeing that she was ready, strike. Talim side stepped, and whipped her blade towards him, aiming at an area that is not vital. Yun-seong parried, and swung his sword at Talim. She dodged and tried to trip him, but he jumped back, landing near the edge of the platform. Both of them didn't realize this, so Talim ran forward and tried to carry out a punch. Yun-seong moved his head to the side and lost his balance at the same time, resulting in a fall to the bottom.

He yelled in surprise, "Wah!"

A wave of worry washed over Talim, but she couldn't even dwell on it because she couldn't stop her body from going forward. She fell off right after Yun-seong. Talim felt the wind going pass her and she screamed.

Yun-seong hit the ground with a muffled thug. "Ouch…" He looked at the land around him. Thankfully it was sand, so it didn't hurt as much. The platform wasn't really high when you compare it with other buildings. _'But still, it was high enough to hur-' _He suddenly realized Talim was also falling down. "Talim!" Before he could do anything else, she fell right on him.

Sand flew up and they both coughed. Talim slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Yun-seong was silent. She shook him a bit, "Yun…Yun-seong." Her face creased with worry and called out of nowhere, "…Yunny…"

Yun-seong suddenly laughed, "You thought I was dead? And what happened to Yun-seong?"

Talim pouted slightly, "That's –that's not funny! I thought you were hurt!" Talim felt sore but she still lifted herself up and met with Yun-seong's gaze.

They stared at each other for a moment, and then they both realized what kind of a position they were in. Talim frantically got off and sat at the side, while Yun-seong quickly sat up. They both looked in the opposite direction. There was an awkward silence as the both of them tried to make the blush go away.

Yun-seong unconsciously scratched the back of his head. "Sorry."

Talim looked at his direction, "I'm sorry too, about running away."

"Hey wait…why should I be sorry? I was only worried and besides, I had to look for you, being short and small-"

Talim looked at him, "What? I'll be taller in a few years, just you wait!"

Yun-seong looked up and their gaze met again. As a natural reaction, they both looked away.

There was another moment of silence, but Yun-seong broke it by softly saying, "I'll wait. I want to see if you really grow taller."

Talim paused and looked at him, who was looking away. "Of course I will."

"Maybe an inch, no, a centimetre." he laughed.

"It'll be more than that."

"Well, you won't be taller than me, that's for sure."

"We'll just have to wait and see."

"Yeah…"

The sun had already set and the stars started to glitter the night sky.

"Wow…it's so pretty…" Talim said with awe.

"Who won?"

"Hm?"

"You know…the fight."

"I did."

"Huh? When was that decided?"

"When you fell out of the ring first."

"What? Not fair! I call a rematch!"

"No! It was fair!"

"Fine, fine, you win…"

"So I get to continue the journey right?"

Yun-seong looked over at Talim, who was looking at him with a hopeful expression. "…yeah, yeah."

"Together?"

Yun-seong smiled, "Yeah." He stood up and extended a hand to Talim, who took it and stood up. She seemed unsteady, so Yun-seong placed his hands on her shoulders so she wouldn't fall. He quickly let go when he realized she was okay and forcefully made a cough, then said, "Let's go."

Talim nodded, _'I'm happy, even though the curse is still here but…' _Talim looked at Yun-seong, who started walking already. _'I think I'm going to be okay.'_

Yun-seong cuffed his hands behind his head. "Now that I think about it, of course I need to come with you! Who's gonna pay all the fees and everything? You'll be broke before you know it!"

"Hey, that's not true! We share the fees!" Talim started walking after him.

"Really? I don't remember." Yun-seong laughed and ran off.

"Come back here!" Talim smiled and ran after him.

---Fin---

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A/N: The situation was actually when Talim went forward to punch Yun-seong who fell out. Talim then fell out with him. It was quite a funny scene, since both of their life bars were still very full. :) I wanted to write a Talim and Yun-seong fic before that, but had no inspiration. So that battle gave me some when I played Talim's story again. 

Oh…and about the racist part…well, I figured people back then must've been racist to foreigners, since they don't see different kinds of people everyday, so yeah…

I hope they were both in character!

Don't forget to review :D


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